Miami, Syracuse, Louisville, FSU, Cal, UNC, Wake, Duke, Stanford and Virginia will all be starting new quarterbacks heading into spring football. Carsen Beck will be Miami's starting QB when fall ball starts but right now Emory Williams and Judd Anderson are taking all the snaps. Clemson, Georgia Tech, SMU and NC State all return their starting quarterbacks from a year ago. Here are my rankings heading into spring football.
1) Cade Klubnik - Clemson -6'2-210 (3,639 yards passing - 36 touchdowns-6 interceptions) this will be his third season in Garrett Riley offense. Cade really came on this past season. He is a good athlete and has a pretty decent arm. The big concern is that he has never completed above 65% of his passes at Clemson. He needs to be closer to 70 percent this year for Clemson offense to take the next step.
2) Haynes King - Georgia Tech - 6'3-215 - King is probably the best athlete at quarterback in the ACC. He is a big, athletic quarterback. His biggest issue is that King does not give Tech much in the passing game. He is very inconsistent as a passer. He just is a very good leader and his team seems to play well around him. His limitations at throwing the football is why King will not be a pro quarterback. I could see King slipping this year but his play on the field in 2024 is why I have him ranked as the second ranked qb heading into spring football.
3) Kevin Jennings - SMU-6'0-190 - This will be his fourth year at SMU, that is huge. He knows the system and is only getting better. He played great in 2024. He did not play well in the playoffs. In his final two games against Clemson and Penn State there was a big step up in competition and at times Jennings struggled. I expect that experience and another year in Lashlee offense, Jennings will take another step up and possibly be the top QB in the conference.
4) Carsen Beck - Miami- 6'4-220- In 2023 Beck completed 72.4 percent of his passes. That is after completing 74 percent in limited action in 2022. He had 3,941 yards 24 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. Most felt heading into last season Beck would be one of the top quarterbacks in the country. HIs stats were not terrible 3,485 yards -28 touchdowns but his 12 interceptions were unacceptable. His completion rate also dipped to 64.7 percent. If Beck is healthy and he can revert back to his 2023 season, he will be one of if not the best QB in the ACC. That is key - will Beck be healthy? Miami does have one of if not the best offensive lines in the country.
5) CJ Bailey - NC State - Bailey was only a freshman last season. He completed over 65 percent of his passes in 8 games last year. He competed 90 percent of his passes in the Stanford game. He finished the season in their bowl game vs. ECU 19-26 (230 yards) 73.1 comp rate - 3 TD and 1 interception. He also ran for over 270 yards and five touchdowns. Bailey was very impressive for a freshman. He has another good season and you may be looking at a 2-3 million dollar QB and that may be on the low end.
6) Darian Mensah - Duke- 6'3-200- Mensah was my favorite QB in the portal last year. Duke just improved the QB position for 2025. He threw for over 65 percent. Mensah also had 22 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. He anticipates as well as any quarterback I watched last season. If Duke has another good defense they could be a major surprise team in the ACC next year. Yes, Duke....
7) Miller Moss - Louisville- 6'1-205- Head coach Jeff Brohm basically signed himself out of the portal. At times Moss was very good at USC. I have no idea what happened to him later in the season. He has good pocket awareness. He will sit in the pocket and take a big hit. He is accurate throwing the ball. I feel Moss is the ideal quarterback for Brohm offense. I expect Moss to have a very productive year in this offense. He could move up this list.
8) Eli Holstein -Pitt-6'4-225 - Will be interesting to see how Eli does in 2025. He flashed last year at certain points of the season. At other times he struggled. That is to be expected by a freshman. If he makes the jump his spot on the list should hold. If not you could see some of the other quarterbacks below him pass Eli by. He has talent. Can he put it all together?
9) Chandler Morris- Virginia- 6'0-190 - Morris threw for 31 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 2024. He is a six year quarterback. That experience should help him out at UVA. They need stability at QB and it looks like that will happen with Morris. He is another QB who could help UVA finally get over the hump.
10) Grayson James - Boston College - 6'3-220-James replaced Thomas Castellanos in the lineup half way through the 2024 season. He displayed a good arm and is a good enough athlete to beat you with his legs. He has NFL talent. Not sure if he will realize it at BC but Bill Obrien has a QB who could end up being a real sleeper in 2025.
11) Kyron Drones - Virginia Tech- Drones is one of the better dual threat quarterbacks in the ACC. He can play at a high level like he did against Miami. He also had very good performances against Stanford and BC. He had terrible performances against teams like Clemson. He is the ultimate Jeckyl and Hyde type qi.
12) Thomas Castellanos-FSU-5'10-195- First things first, I was a fan of his film coming out of HS. TC is a very good athlete. He performed very well against FSU last year. This comes down to FSU ol getting better and TC staying healthy. If he stays healthy he could easily have a better season then most of the other QB'S. He is one of the wildcards in this group.
13) Rickie Collins- Syracuse - 6'2-200 - Collins was a highly rated QB coming out of HS. Can Syracuse strike the portal magic two years in a row? Collins has the physical attributes. Now it is putting it all together.
14) Ryan Browne- North Carolina - 6'4-210 -Browne played his high school ball at Venice, FL in 2023. He is from Michigan. He flashed at times and I have heard some good reports about him from sources out of North Carolina. He has the size and a good arm. He is going to be a pocket passer. If UNC can protect him next year Browne could have a solid season.
15) Devin Brown - Cal - 6'3-215 - I am not saying quarterbacks can't get better but Brown has a long ways to go. He played for Ohio State two years ago and did not look like D1 QB. He can run. It will be interesting as Cal has a highly rated QB in Jaron Sagapolutele on the roster. Losing Fernando Mendoza is going to hurt.
16) Elijah Brown - Stanford- I like Stanford coach Troy Taylor. He turned San Jose State around. The same type of rebuild is taking place at Stanford. There is a good chance that Brown could get beaten out. This is not a good situation heading into 2025.
17) Robby Ashford-Wake- 6'2-230 - Could be a rough season for Wake. They lost their coach. Ashford was benched at every stop before this one. He is an arm. Not sure what else can be said.
1) Cade Klubnik - Clemson -6'2-210 (3,639 yards passing - 36 touchdowns-6 interceptions) this will be his third season in Garrett Riley offense. Cade really came on this past season. He is a good athlete and has a pretty decent arm. The big concern is that he has never completed above 65% of his passes at Clemson. He needs to be closer to 70 percent this year for Clemson offense to take the next step.
2) Haynes King - Georgia Tech - 6'3-215 - King is probably the best athlete at quarterback in the ACC. He is a big, athletic quarterback. His biggest issue is that King does not give Tech much in the passing game. He is very inconsistent as a passer. He just is a very good leader and his team seems to play well around him. His limitations at throwing the football is why King will not be a pro quarterback. I could see King slipping this year but his play on the field in 2024 is why I have him ranked as the second ranked qb heading into spring football.
3) Kevin Jennings - SMU-6'0-190 - This will be his fourth year at SMU, that is huge. He knows the system and is only getting better. He played great in 2024. He did not play well in the playoffs. In his final two games against Clemson and Penn State there was a big step up in competition and at times Jennings struggled. I expect that experience and another year in Lashlee offense, Jennings will take another step up and possibly be the top QB in the conference.
4) Carsen Beck - Miami- 6'4-220- In 2023 Beck completed 72.4 percent of his passes. That is after completing 74 percent in limited action in 2022. He had 3,941 yards 24 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. Most felt heading into last season Beck would be one of the top quarterbacks in the country. HIs stats were not terrible 3,485 yards -28 touchdowns but his 12 interceptions were unacceptable. His completion rate also dipped to 64.7 percent. If Beck is healthy and he can revert back to his 2023 season, he will be one of if not the best QB in the ACC. That is key - will Beck be healthy? Miami does have one of if not the best offensive lines in the country.
5) CJ Bailey - NC State - Bailey was only a freshman last season. He completed over 65 percent of his passes in 8 games last year. He competed 90 percent of his passes in the Stanford game. He finished the season in their bowl game vs. ECU 19-26 (230 yards) 73.1 comp rate - 3 TD and 1 interception. He also ran for over 270 yards and five touchdowns. Bailey was very impressive for a freshman. He has another good season and you may be looking at a 2-3 million dollar QB and that may be on the low end.
6) Darian Mensah - Duke- 6'3-200- Mensah was my favorite QB in the portal last year. Duke just improved the QB position for 2025. He threw for over 65 percent. Mensah also had 22 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. He anticipates as well as any quarterback I watched last season. If Duke has another good defense they could be a major surprise team in the ACC next year. Yes, Duke....
7) Miller Moss - Louisville- 6'1-205- Head coach Jeff Brohm basically signed himself out of the portal. At times Moss was very good at USC. I have no idea what happened to him later in the season. He has good pocket awareness. He will sit in the pocket and take a big hit. He is accurate throwing the ball. I feel Moss is the ideal quarterback for Brohm offense. I expect Moss to have a very productive year in this offense. He could move up this list.
8) Eli Holstein -Pitt-6'4-225 - Will be interesting to see how Eli does in 2025. He flashed last year at certain points of the season. At other times he struggled. That is to be expected by a freshman. If he makes the jump his spot on the list should hold. If not you could see some of the other quarterbacks below him pass Eli by. He has talent. Can he put it all together?
9) Chandler Morris- Virginia- 6'0-190 - Morris threw for 31 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 2024. He is a six year quarterback. That experience should help him out at UVA. They need stability at QB and it looks like that will happen with Morris. He is another QB who could help UVA finally get over the hump.
10) Grayson James - Boston College - 6'3-220-James replaced Thomas Castellanos in the lineup half way through the 2024 season. He displayed a good arm and is a good enough athlete to beat you with his legs. He has NFL talent. Not sure if he will realize it at BC but Bill Obrien has a QB who could end up being a real sleeper in 2025.
11) Kyron Drones - Virginia Tech- Drones is one of the better dual threat quarterbacks in the ACC. He can play at a high level like he did against Miami. He also had very good performances against Stanford and BC. He had terrible performances against teams like Clemson. He is the ultimate Jeckyl and Hyde type qi.
12) Thomas Castellanos-FSU-5'10-195- First things first, I was a fan of his film coming out of HS. TC is a very good athlete. He performed very well against FSU last year. This comes down to FSU ol getting better and TC staying healthy. If he stays healthy he could easily have a better season then most of the other QB'S. He is one of the wildcards in this group.
13) Rickie Collins- Syracuse - 6'2-200 - Collins was a highly rated QB coming out of HS. Can Syracuse strike the portal magic two years in a row? Collins has the physical attributes. Now it is putting it all together.
14) Ryan Browne- North Carolina - 6'4-210 -Browne played his high school ball at Venice, FL in 2023. He is from Michigan. He flashed at times and I have heard some good reports about him from sources out of North Carolina. He has the size and a good arm. He is going to be a pocket passer. If UNC can protect him next year Browne could have a solid season.
15) Devin Brown - Cal - 6'3-215 - I am not saying quarterbacks can't get better but Brown has a long ways to go. He played for Ohio State two years ago and did not look like D1 QB. He can run. It will be interesting as Cal has a highly rated QB in Jaron Sagapolutele on the roster. Losing Fernando Mendoza is going to hurt.
16) Elijah Brown - Stanford- I like Stanford coach Troy Taylor. He turned San Jose State around. The same type of rebuild is taking place at Stanford. There is a good chance that Brown could get beaten out. This is not a good situation heading into 2025.
17) Robby Ashford-Wake- 6'2-230 - Could be a rough season for Wake. They lost their coach. Ashford was benched at every stop before this one. He is an arm. Not sure what else can be said.
